together

I remember sitting in Amman, pouring my heart out to a person patient enough to listen. I would ramble on and on about my “struggles,” and he would always respond in such a compassionate way. The truth is, I never wanted those moments to end. He elevated my state, reminded me of Allah, and helped me figure out where I had been and where I should go. But the goodbyes always came, as they always do.

Imam Zaid Shakir and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf remark in their recent book, Agenda to Change Our Condition: “The path of God is indeed arduous, and it would appear to one looking at it that treading it is too difficult for most of us. Let us set out first and then see how long we can last. A Divine wind will blow on your back, your feet will become light, and wondrous fellow wayfarers will show up with sustenance just when you thought you had none.”

How true.

We are all on a journey, and sometimes our paths cross in unexpected ways. We find relief, insight, comfort, guidance, support and so many other benefits through the amazing people God brings into our life. Yet while God allows us to get what we need from each other, our meeting is always too brief.

Two very important companions on my journey have already reached the destination. They both gave me so much, and I hope I gave them something valuable in return. Oftentimes, when I finish reading from the mushaf, I ask God to send the rewards from my recitation to them (a practice known as isal al-thawab). I hope that when I leave this world, somebody whose path I crossed for a while does the same for me. But mostly, I hope that one day we will all be together, and we won’t have to say goodbye anymore.

If we’re all on a journey, as you mention, I wonder how those two people could have reached the destination, and how you could know.

Thank you for reminding me about isal al-thawab. Allah willing, I will remember more often to ask that Allah ta’aalaa send the rewards of my recitation to my teachers of Quran, all the way to the first teacher–Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

May your journey be filled with barakah and unexpected joys!

From surah Yunus, apropos, as is all of Quran, always!

(62) Most Sure,
The friends of Allah
shall have no fear upon them
[when they meet Allah for Judgment].
Nor shall they ever grieve
[over the life of this world]–

(63)those who believed
and were ever God-fearing.

(64) For them,
there are glad tidings
[of hope and consolation]
in the life of this world
and [the promise of Paradise]
in the Hereafter.
Never can the [decreed] words
of Allah’s [tidings]
be changed.
This is, [in truth],
the magnificent triumph.

(translation adapted from the Dr. Ahmad Zaki Hammad’s masterful work, The Gracious Qur’an : A Modern Phrased Interpretation in English)